With my Farsi
language teacher,
Professor Hafiz
Karimov Ahrarov,
and his family
under the shade
of the grape
vines in Samarkand,
Uzbekistan,
June-August 1998
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There is a strong message of continuity in this context.
The Ahrorov family has played an important role in the history of Uzbekistan
and in the history of Sufism--
a form of Islamic practice emphasizing the development of spiritual exercises
by which individuals seek union with God.
The continuity is symbolized in the house,
built by my teacher's grandfather in the 1920s.
The grapevine farthest to the left is six inches in diameter,
planted by the grandfather in honor of the birth of the father.
The middle grapevine is four inches in diameter,
planted by the father in honor of the birth of my teacher.
The third grapevine, farthest to the right, is two inches in diameter,
planted by my teacher in honor of the birth of his oldest son. |
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The famous
central courtyard
of the Registan,
Samarkand,
Uzbekistan
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Looking down
on the Registan,
Shir Dor
Madressa,
from
the opposing side
Minaret
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The peaceful
central courtyard
of the shrine
for Amir Timur
(Tamerlane),
in Shahrisabz,
Uzbekistan
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From the pass
looking down
into the valley
of Shakhrisabz
(Green-Town)
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This tableau of poets
graces the northern boundary of the Registan.
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Statues representing the mighty conquerer Amir Timur
(known in the West as Tamerlane) occupy central places in parks and in the
iconography of Uzbekistan
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This ancient sculture of a "Qur'an holder" provides
the centerpiece
of the interior courtyard of the
remnant of the Bibi Khanum madreseh.
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